Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Title: "There is always a well-known solution to every human problem--neat, plausible, and wrong

This was in 1996. I do not remember if there was placement given on the LD that day or not. All I remember is looking up and seeing my friend coming in looking like she was headed for the finish line at the KY derby ahead of two other horses by about 50 feet. Quicky also took quite awhile to stop that day. The LD was an out and back (12.5 out and 12.5 back) on trails we had ridden frequently getting ready for the ROC so the Quick mister knew when he turned around he was coming home! 

For the six months prior to that day when we decided to go out to the ROC we had spent a lot of time working on intervals and both our horses were getting quite good at them. However, Quicky was not quite as fast as my mare and he was always looking at her big black butt when we trained at speed together. Clearly he was too fresh from not being ridden for a week and I think he just like being in front for a change ;-) . He did cross the finish line first and from memory he came down quickly and the other two horses took awhile so being from the SE I'd say he "won." 

Truman

k s swigart wrote:

Well, I don't recall there being anything in the original post about either the horse galloping or it being conspicuous; and if it were being used as a conditioning effort for an upcoming 50 miler "moseying through a 25 miler" isn't going to provide much by way of conditioning.

 

If I understand Truman correctly in his response, the answer to my question "why would somebody do this?" was "To support the ride and to avail herself of a marked trail in a far away place for a conditioning effort."

 

Which DOES come under my heading a a perfectly good reason for doing such a thing.  It just doesn't come under MY definition of "winning" since, by using the words "won it" there is the implication of being entered into a competition with the other entrants (since I am assuming that he didn't mean merely that the horse finished the ride).

 

Upper level jumpers have been known to enter lower level competitions just for the "schooling" aspects of them (so they can avail themselves of fences that somebody else has set up).  The USEF even has a word for this, it is called riding "Hors de concourse."  And you can do it in any class.  You pay the entry fee, use the venue, turn your number upside down stating that you are not competing but just schooling, and are not considered for the ribbons.

 

Perhaps the AERC should consider having a similar option for entering sanctioned rides.  It is certainly something I would support.

 

kat

Orange County, Calif.

 

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"There is always a well-known solution to every human problem--neat, plausible, and wrong." H. L. Mencken